Let’s talk about something that’s been coming up a lot lately—this idea that you might be broken. I’ve had so many women reach out to me, asking, “Caitlen, am I just broken? Is success just not for me?”
My answer, every single time, is a resounding NO!
You are never truly broken.You are a whole person with dreams and responsibilities, worthy of all the good this world has to offer.
But I get it. When you’ve been trying and trying, and nothing seems to work, it’s easy to start believing that maybe something is wrong with you. Here’s the truth: you might just be putting your eggs in the wrong basket.
The good news is – there’s a basket out there that’s going to help you find answers and reach your goals.
One Client’s Journey from Feeling Broken to Taking Her Power Back
Let me tell you about a client who applied to my Beautiful Peach Mastermind (shared with permission!).
She was nervous—like, really nervous—and told me she felt deep down that she needed BPM, but she was also scared that she was just broken, and that even with my help, she wouldn’t be able to follow through.
As a coach with over a decade of experience, I’ve heard this struggle more than once and it breaks my heart every single time. I’ve been supporting clients for over a decade, and with my solid background in the human body (cue credentials!), I can usually pinpoint what’s going on pretty darn fast.
So, I asked her to give me a full rundown of her goals, her struggles, and what she’s tried (and hasn’t tried) in the past. And boy, had she tried everything:
- Weight Watchers: She saw weight loss at first but gained it all back when she stopped.
- Cabbage Diet: She lasted only two days before giving up, which is when her “good food/bad food” mentality began.
- Keto: This is where her binge eating started. Trying hard to stay away from all carbs, but wanting “just one fry” when out to dinner with her friends. This turned into, “well…I am already off track, might as well keep going!” and right into the cycle of restrict/binge.
- Optavia: She stuck with this for two years, spending nearly $10,000 on meal replacement bars instead of real food. Her body plateaued, and she felt stuck in a restrict/binge cycle, full of guilt every time she had “bad food.” She wasn’t going out with friends and felt insecure in her body. She became reliant on meal replacement bars, feeling nervous to eat regular meals.
- Medical Weight Loss: Six months, two different medications (both of which made her feel awful), and zero changes.
At this point, she was desperate, which is when she reached out to me.
Why Couldn’t She Lose Weight?
The real problem wasn’t that she was broken—it was that nothing she tried was addressing the root cause of her issues. In fact, these diets were creating even larger problems!
Think about it this way: imagine a small paper cut versus a deep knife cut. Which one is worse? The knife cut, of course. This is what dieting can do. Each new diet is like a small paper cut that eventually creates a knife-sized wound.
Each small cut creating deep wounds like:
- Binge eating
- Weight regain
- Metabolic damage
- Lack of self-worth
- Insecurity with her partner
- Physical symptoms: low libido, low energy, hair loss, loss of period, dry skin, muscle loss
- A burnt-out body/overtraining
So, what was really going on?
The Real Issues
Her Metabolic Health
When we diet repeatedly, our bodies start to fight back. It’s a survival mechanism. After years of dieting, her metabolism was damaged, and her body needed to be healed through a reverse diet (something I wrote my master’s thesis on). That’s why I give my BPM clients access to my Reverse Diet Course, it’s crucial for long-term success.
Chasing Unrealistic Outcomes
It wasn’t that she wanted to lose 10, 30, or 60 pounds—that’s totally possible. The problem was that she was chasing the highly altered, picture-perfect, quick-fix version of success that the diet industry sells us. You know the one—the woman who loses 30 pounds in 30 days and looks like she just stepped off a magazine cover.
The reality is, you see the fast results, but you don’t see the behind-the-scenes damage.
Dieting is like a drug—it keeps us coming back because of the dopamine hit we get from those initial results. But every time she started a new diet, she was ignoring the real issues that needed to be addressed.
In my coaching, I teach you to focus on four main goals:
- Sustainable: No cutting out food groups
- Maintainable: Live your life – travel, eat out, enjoy food!
- Educational: Understand what’s happening to your body when you nourish yourself fully (and what happens when you don’t!)
- Enjoyable: Life is too short for restrictive, joyless eating
Change won’t happen overnight, and progress isn’t always linear. But when we commit to removing the quick-fixes, healing our metabolism, and putting in the work, that’s when we start to see lasting change.
Lack of Trust and Self-Worth
After each diet, her self-worth took a hit. She began to believe that she was the problem, that she wasn’t good enough, and that she’d never succeed.
But here’s the thing—NOBODY gets to decide your worth except you. Not the toxic diet industry, not your ex, not friends or family who shame you for not seeing results, and definitely not anyone on social media.
The beauty of her story is that after we chatted and she realized she wasn’t broken, she took her power back.
She changed her mindset from defeated to empowered and reclaimed every ounce of her trust, worth, and love for herself.
She shows up consistently, whether she’s feeling motivated or not. She’s willing to put herself in uncomfortable situations to grow and make progress.
What Can You Do Today to Change Your Mentality?
If you’re feeling stuck, like you’ve tried everything and nothing works, it’s time to get clear on what you want. Here are some journal prompts to help:
- Where are you now? (dieting, restrict/binge cycle, etc.)
- Where do you WANT to be? (losing weight, feeling free around food, eating out with your kids guilt-free, feeling sexy around your partner)
- What have you been doing to get where you want to be? (dieting, workout classes)
- What can you do today to change your situation and future? (track macros, start a reverse diet, ask for help)
Do you want to keep going down the path of dieting for the next few months or even decades? Or do you want to invest in yourself, commit to long-term change, get uncomfortable, and level up your life?
This journey is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s about changing your life. The sooner you start to heal, the sooner you’ll see real, lasting progress. And the sooner you’ll WANT to continue showing up for yourself and see where this journey can take you.
You’re not broken—you’re just getting started. Let’s do this!
